Next cold front/Getting organized/Book Recommendations

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Some severe weather is possible Wednesday and Wednesday night over a portion of the southeast. There will also be many areas with rain and thunderstorms--from Cincinnati to Atlanta and down to new Orleans. Cold spots will be North Dakota and Minnesota with highs in the single digits and teens. There will be snow/rain around the Great Lakes and the Rockies and Intermountain Region.

Houston will start cloudy and mild. Cold front arrives around midday. But it will be a warm afternoon--some low 80s possible. Humidity will drop during the afternoon. So it will be very pleasant. Any rain will be over by noon. Thursday will be delightful--sunshine, low humidity, cool morning and mild/cool afternoon.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do organize or organizar, pronounced or-gah-KNEE-czar. Today it was time to organizar.

Our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, is organized into 3 chapters--home/family, food/drink and play. That is because those are the topics so important to children. Talk about what concerns them and they will listen (and learn). Order it today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
You know how you are planning to do one thing and then you just have to take care of something else (and let the other thing wait)? Well, I couldn't stand looking at Sarah's avalanche of books in her room anymore. You see, we read a lot and books are very important in our household. But the books had taken over Sarah's room. I am seeing my brother soon and he has 3 little boys (4 and under). So, they are getting Sarah's books for younger children. Well, I spent quite a long time weeding out the easier books, but I can now say that it is all organized. And I can move around in Sarah's room and all of her books are on bookshelves. We'll see how long that lasts. Ha! Books are such treasures. It really is important to read to your children every day.

When I was growing up, we had a small library of books in our house. We didn't have much, but somehow my mom managed to get us some wonderful books. We read them over and over until they were falling apart. My sister Julie was a big time bookworm. She frequently disappeared into her room for hours, reading away. She has a fantastic vocabulary. And my mom, on her own time, coached a spelling bee student all the way to nationals (2 years in a row). The student didn't win 1st place but did do very well.

My favorite book is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Just reading about how much they relished even the simplest things really appealed to me. For example, I remember that the man was about to get married and he decided to splurge and use tea leaves to make himself some tea in the morning--such a luxury. Or how about the Laura Ingalls Wilder series? There was one Christmas where they were so excited because the little cakes had "real white" sugar on them. Oh, and they each got a penny!

By the way, I just finished The Faith Club about 3 ladies, 1 Muslim, 1 Christian and 1 Jewish who really analyze their individual faiths. I recommend this book--I learned a few things--1 of special importance. Special thanks to my friend Marilyn Griffin who loaned it to me. Just so you know Marilyn, my mom is reading it now. Don't worry, she'll get it back to you.

When you get down to it, it's those simple little things in life that we treasure so much--a cup of coffee, a newspaper, a fun blog to read. Ha! You get the big things and the excitement doesn't last long--does it? At the end of your life, you look back and cherish those special times with loved ones--like a simple walk, a smile, a twinkle in the eye.

Happy Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman